Director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Zack Snyder will finally get to make ‘The Last Photograph’.
He has cast ‘Rebel Moon’s Fra Fee and Stuart Martin in the movie.
It follows an ex-DEA agent hunting for missing family members.
Having put aside his giant ‘Rebel Moon’ sci-fi franchise for now, Zack Snyder is taking time to finally put something more personal before the cameras.
Deadline reports that the director is getting ready to start production on longstanding passion project ‘The Last Photograph’.
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But he hasn’t entirely forgotten ‘Rebel Moon’, as two of the actors from that movie –– Fra Fee and Stuart Martin –– are aboard to lead ‘The Last Photograph’.
Director Zack Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
With a story crafted by Snyder and veteran collaborator Kurt Johnstad (the latter wrote the actual screenplay), ‘The Last Photograph’ follows an ex-DEA operative who must return to the mountains of South America in an effort to find his missing niece and nephew, following the brutal murders of their diplomat parents.
Enlisting the help of a washed-up junkie war photographer, the only person to have seen the face of the killers, he sets out, determined to find the children and the truth, but soon learns he must also face the ghosts of his past.
Here’s Snyder telling Deadline what the movie means to him:
“The idea of taking camera in hand and simply making a movie in an intimate way is very appealing to me. ‘The Last Photograph’ is a meditation of life and death, embodying some of the trials that I have experienced in my own life and the exploration of those ideas through image making.”
Snyder, working alongside producing partner/wife Deborah Snyder and fellow producer Wesley Coller, has wrangled together the funding for this one partly thanks to a tax incentive based in Colombia. The movie will shoot in the country as well as Iceland and Los Angeles.
With a score to be written by Hans Zimmer, Steven Doar and Omer Benyamin, the movie starts shooting this month.
Where else can we see Fra Fee and Stuart Martin?
Fra Fee attends the Netflix Premiere of Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 13, 2023 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix.
Martin has been part of just-launched TV series ‘In Flight’ and is attached to another show, ‘Atomic’. Beyond those, there are the in-development movie likes of ‘Storm Witch’ and ‘From These Ashes’.
‘The Last Photograph’ has yet to lock down a distributor, but given Snyder’s name behind it, we doubt it’ll take too long to find a willing company.
Zack Snyder attends the Netflix’s Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo on June 17, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images for NETFLIX.
Director Zack Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Zack Snyder is planning an untitled new thriller.
Regular collaborator Kurt Johnstad is co-writing the movie.
It’ll be set among LAPD cops and released by Netflix.
While Zack Snyder is more known for bringing us zombie hordes, giant historical battles, superhero brooding or big-scale science fiction, it appears he’s ready to stay a little more down to Earth for his next movie.
Following the two-part ‘Rebel Moon’ (which expanded even further with directors’ cuts), Netflix is apparently happy to keep throwing money his way, as Snyder is now developing a new action thriller for the streaming service.
This time around, the director will swap giant spaceships for the gritty streets of Los Angeles via an yet-to-be-titled movie.
Exact plot details are being kept behind bars for now, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the action thriller is being described as being set in the high-stakes world of life and death and centered on an elite LAPD unit that is relentlessly confronted with the unforgiving collision of law and morality.
Who else is working on Zack Snyder’s new movie?
Director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
At Snyder’s side as always will be his wife and business partner Deborah Snyder, who’ll produce alongside the director and Wesley Coller via the trio’s Stone Quarry banner.
And on the scripting front, Kurt Johnstad, who worked with Snyder on ‘300’ and the ‘Rebel Moon’ movies is back to co-write.
Here’s what Snyder told the Reporter about the new project:
“Years ago, Dan [Lin, Netflix’s head of film] and I had a conversation about our shared interest in telling a compelling and visceral character-driven story set within the intense, complex and captivating landscape of the LAPD. It’s a conversation that has stuck with me. So, as you would expect, I’m very excited to now have the opportunity to partner with Dan, along with the rest of my amazing partners at Netflix, in developing this story.”
It’ll also allow the director to make up for an old lost opportunity –– he was attached to direct ‘S.W.A.T.’ for Sony years ago when attempting to make the shift from music videos and commercials to movies. It didn’t work out over a disagreement on the rating (Snyder wanted to make it an R-rated movie; the studio preferred PG-13).
What else is Zack Snyder working on?
Zack Snyder attends the Netflix’s Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo on June 17, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images for NETFLIX.
Snyder recently released animated saga ‘Twilight of the Gods’ (on which he was a writer and director) via the streamer.
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His ‘Army of the Dead’ spin-offs (beyond live-action prequel ‘Army of Thieves’) appear to be still shuffling through development, but he has other projects on the bubble, including TV series ‘Until the Last One,’ on which he’s a producer.
Oh, and when not cranking out movie ideas, he’s also turned his hand to pottery. So at least he has something to fall back on, just in case (no, we’re not kidding).
Director Zack Snyder Talks ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.’
Appearing in-person were Zack and Deborah Snyder, Craig Robinson, Nick Kroll and Nathan Lane
Netflix announced several new animated movies and TV shows
Timothy Olyphant will voice the Terminator in ‘Terminator Zero’ and Hayley Atwell will voice Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’
On Thursday June 6th, in Hollywood, Netflix held their Next on Netflix Animation Preview where they presented many of their upcoming animated movies and TV shows.
Moviefone had the pleasure of attending the event, with other members of the press, and even had a chance to speak one on one with Zach Snyder about his work on ‘Twilight of the Gods’.
Host Christopher Sean at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
The event began with a sizzle reel of Netflix’s upcoming animated projects, which you can watch above. Below is a list of projects presented at the event.
Adult series from action with ‘Arcane’, ‘Twilight of the Gods’ and ‘Terminator Zero’, to comedy with ‘Exploding Kittens’ and the final season of ‘Big Mouth’.
Following the success of all-audience hits like ‘The Sea Beast’ and ‘Leo’, come new films including ‘The Imaginary’, ‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’, ‘Spellbound’, ‘That Christmas’, ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’, ‘The Twits’, ‘K-Pop: Demon Hunters’, ‘Plankton: The Movie’, ‘Pookoo’; and series like ‘Motel Transylvania’ and ‘Jurassic World: Chaos Theory’.
Preschool shows featuring little ones’ favorite friends with ‘CoComelon’, ‘CoComelon Lane’, and ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse’, which collectively amassed more than 650M views last year.
The presentation saw the debut of images and footage from many of Netflix’s upcoming animated projects. Among the first look images presented were photos from Zack Snyder’s ‘Twilight of the Gods’, the SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff ‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’, the new Wallace and Gromit movie ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ and from ‘Love Actually’ filmmaker Richard Curtis, ‘That Christmas’.
‘That Christmas’. Photo: Netflix.
The event also included several cast and project announcements including Natalie Portman and Emilia Clarke joining ‘Twits’, Simu Liu joining Craig Robinson in ‘In Your Dreams,’ Timothy Olyphant voicing the Terminator in ‘Terminator Zero’ and Hayley Atwell playing the lead character in ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’. Other announcements included another SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff ‘Plankton: The Movie’, as well as a TV series based on the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ franchise called ‘Motel Transylvania’.
We also screened footage from the series ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’, ‘Terminator Zero’, and ‘Twilight of the Gods’, as well as a teaser for a ‘Minecraft’ series, and concept art from upcoming ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Stranger Things’ animated shows. Footage from ‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’, ‘In Your Dreams’, ‘That Christmas’, ‘The Twits’, and ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ was also shown.
‘Big Mouth’s Final Season
Nick Kroll at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Comedian and actor Nick Kroll was on hand to discuss the 8th and final season of his popular adult comedy ‘Big Mouth’, and introduced a table read montage video from the series.
“We started ‘Big Mouth’ eight years ago. Season Eight will be coming out early next year. It’s our final season of the show. I think about where when we started, ‘BoJack Horseman’ had come out and we were in the next little round of animation at a time when Netflix itself was just beginning to do original programming. We had unbelievable freedom to create exactly the show we wanted to make. Netflix really gave us the freedom to do that. Eight seasons later, we will be the longest running series in Netflix history for an adult series. I’m incredibly proud of that and I’m proud of how we’ve made the show. I’m proud of the partnership we’ve had with Netflix, and it’s just been an unbelievable joy creating this show with Mark Levin, Jennifer Flackett and Andrew Goldberg, our unbelievable cast, our unbelievable writers, and are unbelievable storyboard artists, editors, everyone involved in the engineering of it, the producers, and our partners at Titmouse. This has been an incredible labor of love.”
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Craig Robinson’s Dual Roles
Craig Robinson at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Actor, comedian, and singer Craig Robinson took the stage to discuss two upcoming films he will appear in. First, he introduced a scene from ‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’.
“Hey, everybody! I’m here today because SpongeBob is back — and so are his friends. ‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’ is coming exclusively to Netflix in August, and I’m so pumped to be in it”
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Craig Robinson at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Robinson then discussed his other Netflix movie, ‘In Your Dreams’ before introducing a video of actor Simu Liu talking about his involvement in the project and presenting a clip from the film.
“As awesome as it was to finally reach a place in my career where I got to voice a Squirrel Dad, it pales in comparison to my next role. I think it proves I’m at the top of my game: A stuffed giraffe. I was told by the filmmakers that I was their first and only choice. They said, “Craig, you were born to play this part.” His name’s Tony Baloney, because he’s stuffed with processed meat. Oh, and he can shoot laser farts. That’s awesome. Daniel Day Lewis had ‘Lincoln’, I got Baloney Tony. I’m already working on my Oscar speech.”
Nathan Lane at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Before introducing an animation test from the film ‘Pookoo’, acclaimed actor Nathan Lane discussed his upcoming animated movie ‘Spellbound’.
“’Spellbound’ is about Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria. She has a secret; a mysterious spell has turned her parents into monsters! Ellian loves her parents. That’s why she summons the mysterious Oracles of the Sun and Moon. I play the Oracle of the Moon and Tituss Burgess plays the Oracle of the Sun and we come to help her break the spell. The cast also includes some other great actors: Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, and Jenifer Lewis. It also has music by Academy Award winning composer Alan Menken. The film is directed by Vicky Jensen, who also directed a little movie you may have heard of called ‘Shrek.’ ‘Spellbound’ is a big adventure for the whole family, filled with incredible new characters you’ll love. I’m excited to share that the movie, which will release globally on Netflix on November 22, 2024.”
Director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Director Zack Snyder (‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’) and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder presented footage and images from their new animated series ‘Twilight of the Gods’.
Zack Snyder said this about the series:
“’Twilight of the Gods’ was a show that we’ve been working on for quite some time, years in the making. I’ve always been obsessed with Norse mythology. I think it’s an amazing place. I love mythology in general, and so the idea of being able to dig into this rich tapestry of heroes and gods was an incredible opportunity for both of us. This show is really a story. It’s a story about love and revenge, and it just takes us across this massive and beautiful landscape in pursuit of, well, you’ll have to see.”
Deborah Snyder added this:
“As Zack said, it’s been about just over four years in the making, developing these scripts and then having an in-house team of about 48 artists who developed all the characters and the worlds. In animation, nothing is for free. Every prop and everything, as you know, must be created. We were so lucky to be able to work with this group of very global artists.”
Director Zack Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
After the presentation, Moviefone had the pleasure of speaking briefly with Zack Snyder one on one about his new animated project.
Moviefone: To begin with, what drew you to adapting Norse mythology for this animated series?
Zack Snyder: Well, we’ve been talking about doing an animated project with Netflix. That had been a conversation that was going on. We had that conversation and are doing an ‘Army of the Dead’ animated series, so that was kind of happening at the same time. This happened because I think (Director) Jay (Oliva) and I were talking about how we both love Norse mythology; wouldn’t it be cool to do something in that world. We started talking to Netflix about it and they said, “Yeah, do that!” So that started us on the journey of developing it.
MF: Finally, I think fans have been waiting for you to adapt this specific mythology for a long time. Did it seem like a no-brainer for you too?
ZS: I think it was easy in us being excited every day. I wasn’t like, “I got to do that Norse mythology thing.” We were utterly and completely off the chain with (the animation) too, so that was cool.
A long time ago (well, probably around 2012) in a galaxy far, far away (actually more like Los Angeles), Zack Snyder heard that Disney was buying Lucasfilm and that new ‘Star Wars’ movies were likely. Yet while the director’s pitch for a standalone movie set in the universe of George Lucas’ creations didn’t ultimately click with Kathleen Kennedy and co., he’s now been able to retool the concept into his own sci-fi movie… Or movies, as he’ll explain below.
‘Rebel Moon’ is being produced under Snyder’s big deal with Netflix, set up around the time of zombie thriller ‘Army of the Dead’. It’s an ambitious, ‘Seven Samurai’-style tale of scrappy heroes fighting back against an imposing empire, with more than a few echoes of its original intended destination.
But unlike ‘Star Wars’ more normal family-friendly fare, ‘Rebel Moon’ will have a harder edge, with Snyder planning both an all-audience cut and something he describes as “for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive.”
‘Rebel Moon’ focuses on the agricultural moon of Veldt, part of a sprawling galaxy of planets overseen by the ferocious, all-powerful Imperium which oversees the other planets from its home base of Mother World.
When Imperium forces expand out to Veldt’s local area, they target the moon as a potentially rich source of food and new recruits. But the natives, none too happy that their already struggling existence is being threatened, turns to a newcomer, Kora (Sofia Boutella) for help.
The isolated woman, who has her own past with the Imperium, knows that it would be foolish to try and negotiate a better deal with the powerful government, so she rounds up some fighters who could be of use against the might of the enemy. But keeping alliances together won’t be quite so easy…
Though Snyder originally wrote one big script for the first movie, the powers that be at Netflix decided that it wouldn’t work as one giant film. So, a change was made…
Says Deborah Snyder, the director’s wife and regular producing partner:
“ Originally, the script was one movie, but it was in ‘Zack form; It was 172 pages. [Netflix film chairman Scott] Stuber was like, ‘On the service, under-two-hour movies really do better for some reason,’ even though you’ll binge-watch a series of eight episodes. Zack said, ‘If you ask me to make this less than two hours, I’m going to lose all the character. You won’t care about these people. It’s a character story about how people can change, and redemption, and what are you willing to fight for…’ So, he said, ‘What if I give you two movies?’”
The first installment of ‘Rebel Moon’ is due to land on Netflix on December 22nd.
